Personality Disturbance Gathering, nr.34 (key to possible disturbances)

Every person may be used only once, and all conditions best match one character.

1. Agoraphobia – The fear of having a panic attack in a setting from which there is no easy means of

escape.

2. Alcoholism – Characterized by frequent and uncontrolled consumption of alcohol despite its negative

effects on the drinker's health, relationships, and social standing.

3. Anorexia –An eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight, and an

obsessive fear of gaining weight due to a distorted self image.

4. Bipolar Personality Disorder – Defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated

energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or more depressive episodes.

5. Bulimia – An eating disorder characterized by recurrent binge eating, followed by compensatory

behaviors.

6. Co-Dependant Relationship – A tendency to behave in overly passive or excessively caretaking ways

that negatively impact one's relationships and quality of life. It often involves putting one's own needs at

a lower priority than others while being excessively preoccupied with the needs of others.

7. Cognitive Distortions / all-of-nothing thinking (Splitting) – Thinking of things in absolute terms, like

"always", "every", "never", and "there is no alternative".

8. Cognitive Distortions / Mental Filter – Focusing almost exclusively on certain, usually negative or

upsetting, aspects of an event while ignoring other positive aspects.

9. Cognitive Distortions / Disqualifying the Positive – Continually reemphasizing or "shooting down"

positive experiences for arbitrary reasons.

10. Cognitive Disorder / Labeling and Mislabeling – Explaining behaviors or events, merely by naming

them in an over-generalized manner. Rather than describing the specific behavior, a patient assigns a label

to someone that implies absolute and unalterable terms. Mislabeling involves describing an event with

language that is highly colored and emotionally loaded.

11. Cognitive Disorder / Personalization – Attribution of personal responsibility for events over which the

patient has no control. This pattern is also applied to others in the attribution of blame.

12. Cognitive Disorder / Narcissistic Rage – Rage is directed toward the person that the narcissist feels has

slighted them. To other people, the rage is incoherent and unjust. This rage impairs their cognition,

therefore impairing their judgment. During the rage they are prone to shouting, fact distortion and making

groundless accusations

13. Delusional Disorder – Characterized by holding one or more non-bizarre delusions; non-bizarre

delusions are fixed beliefs that are certainly and definitely false, but which could be plausible.

14. Dependant Relationship – Defining oneself by their romantic interest, to the point of where they lose

sight of their own identity.

15. Dissociative Amnesia / Psychogenic Amnesia – Patients lose their autobiographical memory and

personal identity even though they are able to learn new information and perform everyday functions

normally. Other times, there may be a loss of basic semantic knowledge and procedural skills such as

reading and writing.

16. Dissociative Fugue / Psychogenic Fugue – An episode of temporary amnesia, assumption of a new

identity and unplanned travel away from ones customary surroundings.

17. Dissociative Identity Disorder / Multiple Personality Disorder – A condition in which a person

displays multiple distinct identities or personalities, each with its own pattern of perceiving and

interacting with the environment.

18. Echolalia – A speech disorder; the automatic repetition of the vocalizations (sound, speech) made by

another person.

19. Factitous Disorder – Conditions in which a person acts as if he or she has an illness by deliberately

producing, feigning, or exaggerating symptoms.

20. Neurotic Fear of the Future – Fear of the uncertainty the future holds.

21. Ganser syndrome – A rare dissociative disorder; characterized by nonsensical or wrong answers to

questions or doing things incorrectly

22. Korsakoff’s Syndrome – Denoted by five major symptoms: lack of insight, apathy, meager content in

conversation, amnesia, and confabulation (invented memories which are then taken as true due to gaps in

memory sometimes associated with blackouts).

23. Neurotic Paranoia – Paranoia which consumes every aspect of a person’s thoughts.

24. Persecutory Delusions / Querulant Delusions – The most common forms of delusions, the affected

person believes – wrongly – that they are bring prosecuted. The perceived persecution may involve the

theme of being followed, harassed, cheated, poisoned or drugged, conspired against, spied on, attacked, or

obstructed in the pursuit of goals

25. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event

that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone

else, or to one's own or someone else's physical or psychological integrity, overwhelming the individual's

ability to cope.

26. Proprioception – This concept provides for a sense of the position of the parts of the body relative to

other neighboring parts. It is the sense that indicates whether the body is moving with required effort, as

well as where the various parts of the body are located in relation to each other.

27. Repressed Memories – A significant memory, usually of a traumatic nature, that has become unavailable

for recall. It may be when a subject blocks out painful or traumatic times in one's life. *This is not the

same as amnesia, which is a term for any instance in which memories are either not stored in the first

place (such as with traumatic head injuries when short term memory does not transfer to long term

memory) or forgotten.

28. Schizophrenia – Characterized by a disintegration of the process of thinking and of emotional

responsiveness. It most commonly manifests as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or

disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social or occupational dysfunction.

29. Self-Victimization – The fabrication of victim-hood for a variety of reasons, such as to justify abuse of

others, to manipulate others, as a coping strategy or attention seeking

30. Shame-based Personality – a personality rooted in low self esteem, a sense of regret (for no clear

reason) and shame.

31. Stockholm Syndrome – a term used to describe a paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein

hostages express positive feelings towards their captors that appear irrational in light of the danger or risk

endured by the victims, essentially mistaking a lack of abuse from their captors as an act of kindness.

32. Taijin kyofusho (Japanese culture-specific syndrome) – Dreading and avoiding social contact.

However, instead of a fear of embarrassing themselves or being harshly judged by others because of their

social ineptness, sufferers of taijin kyofusho report a fear of offending or harming other people as well.

The focus is thus on avoiding harm to others as much as is to oneself.

33. Tourette’s Syndrome – denoted by tics, a sudden, repetitive, nonrhythmic, stereotyped motor movement

or vocalization involving discrete muscle groups

34. Social phobias – A type of anxiety disorder in which exposure to the feared stimulus may provoke

extreme anxiety or a panic attack. Specific phobias are among the most common of all psychiatric

disorders, affecting up to 10% of the population.

Name: _______________________________

Period: ______ Date: ___________________

Personality Disturbances Gathering, nr. 34

Please write the name of the person whom you think the condition best describes. All may be ascribed to

only one person. There are 34 conditions and 34 partygoers.

1. Agoraphobia –

2. Alcoholism –

3. Anorexia –

4. Bipolar Personality Disorder –.

5. Bulimia –

6. Co-Dependant Relationship –

7. Cognitive Distortions / all-of-nothing thinking (Splitting) –

8. Cognitive Distortions / Mental Filter –

9. Cognitive Distortions / Disqualifying the Positive –

10. Cognitive Disorder / Labeling and Mislabeling –

11. Cognitive Disorder / Personalization –

12. Cognitive Disorder / Narcissistic Rage –

13. Delusional Disorder –

14. Dependant Relationship –

15. Dissociative Amnesia / Psychogenic Amnesia –

16. Dissociative Fugue / Psychogenic Fugue –

17. Dissociative Identity Disorder / Multiple Personality Disorder –

18. Echolalia –

19. Factitous Disorder –

20. Neurotic Fear of the Future –

21. Ganser syndrome –

22. Korsakoff’s Syndrome –

23. Neurotic Paranoia –

24. Persecutory Delusions / Querulant Delusions –

25. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder –

26. Proprioception –

27. Repressed Memories –

28. Schizophrenia –

29. Self-Victimization –

30. Shame-based Personality –

31. Stockholm Syndrome –

32. Taijin kyofusho (Japanese culture-specific syndrome) –

33. Tourette’s Syndrome –

34. Social phobias –

Which three of these characters would you most like to meet?

Which three would you most like to avoid meeting?

Personality Disturbance Gathering, nr.34

ALISA is having

much difficulty

sleeping. Over

the past year she

has had a

recurring dream

in which she, as a

youth, did what

unidentified (in

the dream) people

were asking.

While vague, she recalls the interior of an apartment,

and a Little Mermaid blanket. She has a sense of

fear, wrongness and dread, yet the dream always

stops abruptly at the same point, with nothing in it

clearly illuminating why those feelings of

foreboding are there.

ABDUL is recently out of

the hospital. At first he was

not able to move properly or

even control the tone of his

voice. Later he re-learned, by

using his sight (watching his

feet) and inner ear only for

movement while using his

hearing to judge voice

modulation.

He eventually acquired a stiff

and slow movement and

nearly normal speech. He

could not judge the effort

involved in picking up

objects and would grip them

painfully to be sure he did

not drop them.

Everyone is happy AIMEE

is at the party. Two months

ago she, along with LEWIS,

were held hostage by a man

escaping from prison on a

rainy day in Lithuania.

While she was not

physically abused, it was a

dangerous, fearsome ordeal

which lasted five days;

LEWIS was shot in the

shoulder during the police effort to rescue them, and she

was in another room and rescued unharmed.

Within days of her rescue, upon reflection she came to

feel their assailant was falsely accused. She wrote to

him in prison, and solicited donations to assist in paying

his defense attorney fees. Why she would support her

former hostage taker remains a question to her friends.

At the party ADAR, a

university sophomore, is

sitting on a park bench

when she notices a small

spider inching along from

her plate of barbeque

potato chips. She quickly

gets up, heart racing and

starting to sweat. Her hand

trembles. But while the

spider never touched her

plate, she herself is unable

to return to it, or to the area

she was previously sitting.

23 year old AMIT is hitting

on (as in trying to “picking

up”) MARTYNA and

preparing to ask her out on

a date, when suddenly his

entire demeanor shifts to a

soft youthful voice with

slouched shoulders and

different mannerisms. His

newfound shy voice,

physical slough and lack of

eye contact was abrupt. It

was a complete change!

Perplexed, MARTYNA asks what’s going on, and

AMIT says “her” name is “KARA” and that “she”

is 11 years old. Confused, he (“KARA”) goes on

to inquire who MARTYNA is, and why so many

people are around.

When discussing the

politics of the death penalty,

ARCHER, a recent

university graduate, was

unable to emphasize with

his friend’s (MENDEL)

views that while the

punishment should be

around, it should be more

narrowly restricted to

certain crimes.

ARCHER was adamant that the criminal justice system

should adopt either a punishment or a rehabilitative

approach toward crime, but that both concurrently were

incompatible.

AVITAL feels anxious when in outdoor social gathering. In spite of the few clouds

overhead, her mind is fixated on the possibility of rain, and how embarrassing it

might be for her mascara to run and to wear wet, clinging clothing. While there is a

sheltered area, she ponders how many at the gathering could actually fit under the

gazebo. With every breeze, her anxiety increases.

CLARISSA experiences sharp mood swings, advancing from energetic and happy to

mad and depressed, all within a short period of time. She will be very upset, but then

twenty minutes later happy again with no recollection of the depths of her prior

disharmony. She might be crying uncontrollable one moment and euphoric the next.

Her friends attribute this to the fictional books she authors, thinking she is getting too

much into her characters.

People are uncertain whether CIARAN

is intentionally answering oddly or if

he just does not get it!

When asked by ALISA what 2+2 is, he

responds “approximately 3” or “it

depends on what the value of ‘2’ is”.

To some this is irksome, although to

many others he is a novelty.

DAX is subconsciously envious of the attention his former roommate, who was in a

wheelchair, received. Once DAX mentioned that he was feeling ill, and felt glad for the

attention he then received. Since then, he has been outspoken of whatever ails him.

Anything, a stiff muscle, for instance, is presented as an agonizing endeavor he tolerates

Even though they have been dating

for only a month, CONNOR really,

really, really likes NIRIA, so much

so that when they’re not together,

he remains home and looks out the

window thinking nonstop of her.

This is more than just an

infatuation. His sense of self is

intertwined with his thought of her.

He feels depressed and adrift when

she is not around.

DELPHINE strives to avoid making eye contact whenever

possible. She is afraid of how others would react if she

starts blushing, and is preoccupied with how things appear.

She is worried about making others feel uncomfortable and

therefore is concerned about how they view her.

EWELINA seems rather rude and put-off around

many people, often acting as if she does not want to

be at the gathering. She projected an undercurrent

of stiff tension, antisocial tendencies and animosity.

Yet her demeanor and mood relaxes once she has

some wine. Originally she was upset when told

there was no hard liquor, and by default selected

Red burgundy wine, but by her third glass she was

casually interacting with others.

JEROME has a low opinion of himself. He regularly compares himself to those who he

meets, and uses sharp levity as a defense mechanism to mask his uncomfortable feelings.

He recently quit the job at Starbucks he enjoyed for years because he felt he was not

deserving of happiness.

EYLAM, a reporter from Seattle, went missing before the Millennium (1 Jan.2000) only

to be found 12 years later in Anchorage, Alaska, living under the name of “JAYSON” yet

with little recollection of that time between his initial disappearance and the present. In

fact, once discovered he had to be persuaded into believing in his own past life.

IVOR believes a government is tracking his

movements, only he is unsure of just which

government is doing so! He has traveled

internationally to evade them, but to no avail.

He believes they are monitoring his movements

through cyber-surveillance, telephone taps and

credit card checking. MI6, CIA, KGB and

Mossad are his leading suspects and he believed

he sees evidence of them all in his life weekly.

He ponders whether they may be conspiring

together to locate him!

JEAN-PIERRE has lost the ability to form new

memories. He can remember nothing of his life since

the end of the second World War, including events

that happened only a few minutes ago. He believes it

is still 1945 and seems to behave as a normal,

intelligent gentleman aside from his inability to

remember his past and the events of his day-to-day

life. He struggles to find meaning, satisfaction, and

happiness in the midst of constantly forgetting what

he is doing from one moment to the next.

JOSEPHINE is standing

on the promenade

overlooking the river and

notices a wrinkle in

EWELINA’s skirt, who is

nearby. JOSEPHINE is

unable to take her mind

off of this minor

imperfection and soon

becomes possessed by the

thought of fixing it. So

consumed by the thought,

she finds it difficult to

continue her conversation

with EYLAM.

LIAM finds himself (without

intent) taking on and speaking

with the tone and accent of

whomever he hears. At the

party he is speaking to

CONNOR, who is British, and

suddenly LIAM is conversing

through a British accent with

perfect speaking inflection.

LEWIS outwardly seems to be well-adjusted,

yet demonstrates a profound startle response

to the sound of a rock hitting another rock or

to the slamming of a door. It was not always

like this. Easily agitated since his return from

rescuing AIMEE and LEWIS, he has been

restless and suffers from insomnia.

Furthermore, he starts to tear uncontrollably

at the sound of raindrops.

KIRK harbors a secret: he believes he is really a Starfleet officer from the

23rd century who was sent back in time to disrupt a terrorist plot involving

a clandestine “shadow” government of the United States which had access

to technology from the lost city of Atlantis, and which has implications

for his future. KIRK went to great lengths to infiltrate this party (he

befriended JOSEPHINE days before, hoping he could attend as her

date), feeling something there will point him in the direction of the

bad guys. No detail of the party is left un-assessed by him, and he

comes to think that MOIRA may be involved, possibly as a victim.

KEV perceives himself as being

completely unselfishly and dedicated

to the well-being of ANNABELLE.

They’re in love, and this is how he

views love as being. They are

inseparable. When one has a bad

day, the other feels the same, and

vice-versa. Both have receives bad

grades and poor job reviews due to

their being distracted by the thought

of the other when not together.

LIAT believes that everything

NOA does or says is an intentional

show of disrespect toward her. She

felt that NOA’s tardy arrival to the

dinner party was intended to

somehow influence the hostess to

overcook the main meal.

LORNA, a high school senior, is nervous about

setting forth on her own after graduation. The

very prospect of not having her parents ‘safety

net’ around is unceasing uncomfortable. Every

article in the news – stalkers, increasing tuition,

unemployment, etc – is on her mind. She has

started to try less in school, receiving grades

significantly below what this solid-A student

should be earning.

Following dinner,

LYSETTE awkwardly

excused herself from

conversations on a few

occasions, saying she

was stepping to the

restroom. She always

returned with a glass of

water in one hand.

While all seems normal,

her eyes betray a sense

of unease

LYNDON has had the

sniffles for over a year.

It is so routine now, he

often does it without

even thinking about it.

Years earlier he had a

tendency to quickly

shake his head, but he

says he ‘grew out’ of that

stage. He is no longer

cognizant of how often

these tic’s occur.

MENDEL is truly a pessimistic personality.

He is critical of everything. Even on his own

wedding day, he commented to his Best Man

(LYNDON) that he will now need to work

more hours to support his wife.

He gets away with this by framing these

incessant comments as dark satire.

MELVIRA is generally critical of others. In

reference to a friend who brings her children to

daycare each morning, MELVIRA exclaims with all

seriousness “she abandons her children to strangers.”

MOIRA is going from person to person asking what they

know about her. She does not remember her own name,

yet she understands (and can speak when spoken to in…)

Russian, English and Italian, she finds herself

instinctively hyper-vigilant (hyper-aware) of her

surroundings and realized at the gathering that she can tie

several different types of knots without thinking about it.

She retains reaction skills and instincts and language

abilities, but not who she is, what she does or where she is

from.

MARTYNA, a recent graduate from

Tel Aviv University, aspires to be a

swimsuit model. Friends have noticed

she seems to always have a cracker in

her hand yet rarely nibbles at it. At

dinner she regularly refilled her water

glass but never touched her plate.

She has started to experience

depression, at times feeling compelled

to remove herself from social settings.

NOA is angry at REGEV. She yells at

him, feeling slighted. This rage is

expressed in an incoherent manner, and

quickly NOA is saying things which she

will later regret others overhearing. She

comes across to others as disingenuous,

mean-spirited and vain, and she regrets

(and feels bad) that this is how others

perceive her

TUCKER believes he is being

followed by secret agents from

PETA (People for the Ethical

Treatment of Animals) because

he has publicized their

euthanizing (killing) of stray

cats. Every time he hears a

vehicle pass by, he is convinced

they are keeping tabs on him.

Even birds chirping outside his

apartment window in the early

morning is seen as evidence of

orchestrated harassment directed

toward him

TREVOR defines himself by

the number of people who

come to listen to him. He is

a compulsive liar and will

say whatever he can to get

peoples sympathy and

companionship (attention).

REGEV is pursuing his

Masters degree in

evolutionary biology, and

over the course of his

studies he has discovered

striking parallels with his

own observations of life;

specifically, he has come to

believe that he – himself –

is in the process of

evolving during his own

lifetime.

In a major dissertation (research paper) he is preparing, he cites the

improvement of his own physical physique and athletic and

intellectual skills over time as evidence. He expects to one day be

able to transcend out of his body in a dissociative experience, and run

continually for over 400 miles without stopping. He believed himself

clairvoyant, and a dream is what previewed for him the beliefs he now

holds